i call 1992 the end of the new jack era b/c, in july, mary j. blige's debut, what's the 411?, is released, effectively marking the entrance of diddy on the pop stage (although dave "jam" hall did much of the heavy lifting). w/ this release, the synthesis is thrown out of whack, favoring the hip-hop pole over the r&b pole--indeed, mary j. is the first r&b artist i know of to have a remix album.

then, in 1993, former players on the new jack scene released albums that were vast departures from their past work: tony! toni! tone!'s sons of soul stressed their band aspect (and sampled ice cube's line, "and you can new jack swing on my nuts"); babyface's for the cool in you saw him picking up an acoustic guitar; and r. kelly's 12 play saw him, basically, retreating to his own galaxy, where he happily remains, in between court cases. oh, and bell biv devoe released hootie mack: not much changed and that was the problem: it sounded ridiculous, even then, and it showed how out of step the original new jack sound had become.

some of you may have no idea what the fuck i'm talking about, and for you i present:

new jack swing for quick studies
another bad creation, "iesha"
bell biv devoe, "b.b.d. (i thought it was me)?" and "poison"
boyz ii men, "motownphilly"
bobby brown, "every little step," "my prerogative" and "on our own"
en vogue, "hold on" and "my lovin' (you're never gonna get it)"
johnny gill, "rub you the right way"
guy, "dog me out," "groove me," "i like," "let's stay together," "teddy's jam 2" and "wanna get with you"
janet jackson, "alright," "love will never do (without you)" and "rhythm nation"
michael jackson, "jam"
johnny kemp, "just got paid"
teddy riley, "is it good to you" (feat. tammy lucas)
al b. sure! "nite and day" and "off on your own (girl)"
keith sweat, "i want her"
t.l.c., "ain't 2 proud 2 beg"
tony! toni! tone! "feels good" and "the blues"
troop, "spread my wings"
christopher williams, "dreamin'"
the winans, "it's time"
wreckx-n-effect, "new jack swing" and "rump shaker"